Is This What You Wanted?
by stephfarrow94
Summary: Sasuke's state of mind borders on insane after years of abuse. When he snaps, Itachi is the one whom is rushed to the hospital. Can Sasuke bring himself to care or will he stay on his self-destructive path? Who can save Sasuke? AU, self-harm, abuse
1. Chapter 1

**A/N So I just realised that even though I have ALWAYS loved Itachi and Sasuke the most ever since I first met them, I have neglected to give them many stories of their own – so here is one that I thought up at six o'clock in the morning when I was too stressed to sleep! **

Sasuke Uchiha wasn't aware of the pain – not even of the blood that was dribbling down his arms in rivers. All he knew was that he needed to escape from his reality once again. He grunted as the blade dug deeper, but he didn't care – he was used to the searing pain by now.

Red, sticky liquid stained the black bed sheets, but Sasuke knew that neither of his parents would care – if anything, his father was one of the main causes for his behaviour. Perhaps his brother would care, but that would be about it.

With those thoughts in mind, the sixteen-year-old couldn't help but let out a growl. He knew that his brother loved him, but that was the entire point – Sasuke _hated _his brother, just like he hated everyone else.

After pulling the blade away and shoving it back into his pocket, Sasuke stared at the new scars engraved into pale skin, and stained red with blood. He wasn't quite sure how things had gotten so bad. What he did know was that there were just too many factors in his miserable life to single out the one thing to have caused the entire situation.

The constant abuse by his father, the stress of school... If Sasuke could go back and pin-point the events that had led to this chain-of-reactions, he would put a stop to it. It wasn't that he enjoyed living like this – no, it was quite the opposite – but it had become the only way that he knew to escape from his pain.

**-XX-**

Dinner was silent as always. Sasuke had barely touched his food – which was quickly turning into a daily occurrence. For the past three weeks, Sasuke had barely eaten half of what was on his dinner plate and, because of this, had lost quite a lot of weight.

Sasuke's father, Fugaku, was too busy glaring at his oldest son, Itachi, to pay much attention to Sasuke for once. Sasuke didn't care, if his father's attention wasn't on him then it meant less stress and more thinking time for the black-haired boy.

Sasuke poked at his peas for what felt like five minutes for the young Uchiha while Itachi timidly raised his head and looked his mother in the eyes.

"Mother…" Itachi said in a timid, shaking voice as his eyes darted over to his father – as if he was terrified of being yelled at and, knowing Fugaku, he probably _was._

"Yes, son…?" Mikoto was just as timid as Itachi, keeping her eyes focused on the dinner plate while she played with her hands.

"…I got my results back from the university…" Itachi tried to smile but it only came out as a frown. "…Top of my class again…"

Mikoto's eyes welled with tears and she nodded. "G-good for you, Itachi…"

Fugaku was silent, his hard eyes seemingly penetrating Itachi and staring right through the long-haired male. Without warning, he stood up and immediately left the table without a word, leaving his empty plate for someone else to clean up.

Sasuke was quick to leave the second that Fugaku had left the table. His brother soon followed, leaving Mikoto to do the dishes alone. Itachi usually did the dishes with his mother, but tonight he had disappeared off to his room.

**-XX-**

_Such a slut… That Uchiha boy…_

_Yes… Look at all of the scars on his wrists… Emo… _

_Attention-whore…_

The only thing that Sasuke could focus on were the things that his school peers would always say about him. As hard as he tried, he just couldn't block the voices out. They just swam around his head, back and forth, tormenting the boy. He could hear Itachi in the next room, crying, but he didn't care – Itachi was a grown man and could take care of himself, and Sasuke had his own problems to worry about instead of shouldering someone else's.

"I wish he would just die…" Sasuke growled to himself as he banged hard against the wall behind him. It was enough to distract him from his own torment. He knew – even though he rarely set foot into his brother's room – that their beds were pushed against the same part of the wall, so Itachi would definitely hear his banging. "Shut up, Itachi!"

Itachi's sobs instantly quietened, a small, muffled apology making its way through the thin walls. "I-I'm sorry, otouto…"

"Don't apologise – just shut up! I _don't _want to hear you!"

The older Uchiha spoke no more words. Sasuke could tell that Itachi had buried his face into his pillow, because Itachi's cries were muffled and very faint.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, staring at nothing in particular. "Might as well finish my homework before that bastard storms in…"

With that said, Sasuke got off of his bed and moved to his desk. He pulled his homework out of his school bag, sitting down and getting himself prepared. It was nothing hard – just some biology work on meiosis and mitosis.

Sasuke – as he usually did – finished his homework within a half-hour. Just as he was placing the sheets of paper back in his bag for tomorrow, his door was opened and a drunken Fugaku stumbled in.

"What the fuck are ya doing?" Fugaku snarled, making his way over to the desk and backhanding Sasuke across the face. "Show me what the fuck you were doing."

Without a word, Sasuke silently reached down into his bag and pulled the plastic pocket back out, handing it to his father.

"The fuck…?" Fugaku's eyes scanned the sheets of paper as he read about the different stages of meiosis. "The hell is this, boy?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He didn't have to – his father didn't deserve to hear his voice.

Another slap rang out across the room as Fugaku's palm connected with Sasuke's cheek again. "You gonna answer me, boy?"

"…"

Fugaku was quick to grab Sasuke by the collar of his shirt and pull him off the desk chair. He shoved the younger male into the desk, causing the piece of furniture to shake dangerously, and threatening to tumble the cup of coke that was sitting on the end.

"You don't _ever _ignore me when I'm speakin' to ya, boy!" Fugaku shouted as he punched Sasuke repeatedly in the stomach. "Or else you'll wind up like that piece of shit in the other room! You'll have no friends and no emotions – no interest in anything! Just a piece of emotionless, waste-of-air shit!"

Sasuke – as usual – didn't say a word; he just lay there and took the beating. He knew that his father was trying to rile him up by talking shit about Itachi, but let's be honest, here – Sasuke did not give a flying _fuck _what was said about his brother.

Minutes passed by, and Fugaku soon grew bored of beating his youngest son. He hardly got a reaction out of Sasuke anymore – but Itachi more than made up for that.

"You'd better stay in your room, you little slut," Fugaku growled, "or else I'll come back and hurt you some more. You understand that, you bitch?"

Sasuke just spat after his father. He didn't even flinch when he was punched in the chest, but he did smirk once his father had left and Itachi's weak begs to be left alone sounded. At least Itachi was getting what he deserved.

"I hate him." Sasuke couldn't help but let out a little laugh as he thought about what was happening to his brother at that very moment. "I hope that Father kills him this time. He annoys me."

Sasuke rubbed at his aching cheek, aware that blood was dribbling from his mouth and nose. He only smirked and left the trail of blood as it was, sitting back down onto his bed. He fell into the day-dreams that he was so often consumed in.

Sasuke imagined that his father had killed Itachi. Sometimes, the murder was brutal and the method reserved for only the most disturbed of minds, or other times, Fugaku had killed both Itachi and his wife, before taking his own life.

Sasuke smirked as he imagined Itachi's screams of horror – the way the older brother thrashed in agony, pleading for his life.

No one would understand why Sasuke hated his brother so much when all Itachi had ever done was love and protect his brother, putting his own problems second to Sasuke's wellbeing. But – as most people could see – Sasuke's state of mind was dwindling. Fast.


	2. Chapter 2

"Look, it's Uchiha."

Sasuke scowled as he heard the whispers around the school's corridor. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but he just couldn't bring himself to get used to it.

"See he still hasn't killed himself yet. Pity."

"School would be better without that emo around to dampen everyone's spirits."

"Yeah, but he has a brother who is an even bigger emo than he is. I wonder if he's just trying to copy."

"No – he just wants attention, you moron!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at all of the accusations and he quickened his pace, wanting to dump his bag off in his locker before heading to the bathrooms and locking himself away until the bell rang. He arrived at his locker just five minutes later – or what was left of his locker.

Someone had broken the combination lock and ripped the door from its hinges. The contents of the locker were strewn all over the ground. Books and paper had been ripped to pieces and all of his writing utensils had been broken. Even the folders had their binders ripped out.

Sasuke sighed and narrowed his eyes. No one was in sight. He leant down and slowly started picking everything up. He was furious to see that three of his major assignments had been shredded beyond recognition, and all three were due today.

Sasuke knew that nothing was salvageable, so he dumped everything in the bin. After that, he slung his bag over his shoulder and carried it to the bathrooms with him.

"I hate this school so much…" Sasuke snarled to himself as he walked. "I hate it… I hope they all die…"

"Going somewhere, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked up at the voice, finding his biology teacher, Orochimaru-sensei, standing behind him. The man looked look upon him with narrowed eyes and a large grin on his face.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, continuing on his way.

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru called, walking beside the Uchiha. "I would like to know what happened to your locker. Did you do that?"

Sasuke just glared at the man before quickening his pace and running to the bathrooms. "Like I would do it to my own locker… Stupid fucking fool…"

Sasuke had never been happier to be locked away in the toilet cubicle than he was just two minutes later. He could hear boys coming in back and forth continuously, but he was glad that it had been empty when he had snuck in.

Sasuke whipped his pocket knife from his pocket and stuck his wrist out. He didn't make a sound as the cold blade ran through his skin – he embraced the pain. Blood dribbled down his arm and onto the white, marble floor beneath him, but he didn't care – let the others talk.

"And then my dad told me – hey, is that blood?"

Sasuke didn't recognise that voice, but it sounded like it belonged to a young boy – perhaps a new student?

"Hey, yeah, you're right!"

That was a voice that Sasuke knew. It belonged to a brown-haired boy named Inuzuka Kiba. He was one of the ones who hated Sasuke the most.

"That must be Uchiha in there, having a few cuts before class – wouldn't surprise me."

"Who?" Asked the unfamiliar voice. "Who is Uchiha?"

"Oh, you're new here, so you wouldn't know. Uchiha Sasuke. He's a real headcase. Stay away from him cause he's fucking psycho."

"Oh… O-okay…"

With that said, Sasuke heard the bathroom door opening again and the voices disappearing out of hearing range. He didn't care about what was said about him, but what he did care about was that people who didn't even know him seemed to believe what was said _about _him before they even _knew _him.

Sasuke growled under his breath and slashed at his wrist out of pure anger. He winced as the blade dug deeper than he was used to, but he didn't stop his cutting. One, two, three more cuts before the bell rang.

Sasuke sighed and placed the bloodied blade back into his pocket before reaching into his bag and grabbing a roll of bandage. He wrapped his wrists up clumsily before walking to class, bag and all. He ignored the stares of his classmates as they waited for their forever-late teacher to show up for homeroom and let them in.

"See the blood…?"

Sasuke glared at another of his classmates. He self-consciously ducked his hands into his pockets, hating the stares that immediately drifted downward along his arms.

"Emo…"

Sasuke didn't bite back – he was too busy thinking of ways to torture his classmates for weeks upon end without killing them. A small smirk appeared on his face as his eyes lost focus and he became overwhelmed by his thoughts.

"Sorry I'm late…"

Sasuke slowly returned to reality at his homeroom teacher's voice. He narrowed his eyes at the grey-haired man.

"…I'm afraid I was too busy helping old ladies cross the road with their bags."

The class laughed, never tired of Kakashi's excuses for being late. Sasuke, however, remained as emotionless as ever. He ignored the Hatake as the elder's eyes scanned his figure and followed the others into the classroom, taking his usual seat in the back corner of the class and away from everyone else.

"Sasuke, why have you got your bag with you?" Kakashi asked as he lazily flipped the pages of his book. "There's a reason you kids have lockers. Put it away, please."

Sasuke just glared, clutching at his bag protectively. He wasn't going to put anything else in that locker for people to wreck.

"Sasuke." Kakashi warned. "Go."

"No." Came Sasuke's bored voice.

Kakashi sighed but didn't push the subject further. He knew that Sasuke was unbalanced, and there was something about the kid that he didn't like. The Uchiha was a good student grades-wise, but as a person, there just something that Kakashi could sense about him that unsettled him. A lot of the other teachers agreed with the grey-haired male.

Sasuke's lips curled into a sneer and he rested his chin on his entwined fingers, staring out of the window in a bored manner. He was aware of people throwing things at him, but he didn't care right now – he was too busy enjoying the storm-clouds of his mind.

"Don't forget that the school canteen…" Kakashi's lazy voice carried on in the background, but Sasuke never paid attention to the bulletin.

Sasuke was just glad when the bell rang minutes later. He left the room before anyone else and arrived out the front of his Psychology class the same moment a teacher stepped through the door.

Sasuke was confused to see that Kurenai-sensei wasn't the teacher today, and it was enough to make him stop in his tracks – if there was one thing that Sasuke hated about school, it was substitute teachers. The Uchiha was someone who resented change.

"Ahh, good morning."

Sasuke looked up at the teacher's cheery voice once he had stepped into the room. He could see that it was a younger-looking male with brown hair and a scar across his face.

"I'm Iruka-sensei. I'll be taking the class while Kurenai-san is out in a meeting. Nice to meet you. Please, take a seat."

Sasuke ignored the teacher and headed straight to the back of the classroom once again, dumping his bag down onto the table. He looked up from his hands as Iruka cleared his throat.

"May I ask why you have your bag with you?" Iruka had asked.

Sasuke just shrugged, grabbing said item and pulling out his required objects for the class.

"I asked you a question." Iruka said. Sasuke could tell that underneath the calm disposition, Iruka was someone who could get angry when provoked. "I would like for you to put your bag in your locker. It is against the school rules to bring it to class."

Sasuke lifted his gaze to meet the teacher's, onyx eyes tinged with red meeting dark-brown. He wasn't surprised to see the older male flinch at the stare – he seemed to have that impression on everyone that he met.

"What is your name, boy?" Iruka asked. Sasuke was disappointed to not hear fear in this man's voice that he was so accustomed to hearing in everyone else's.

"…" Sasuke's gaze just travelled over to the classroom door, not paying the man any heed.

Iruka sighed and grabbed the piece of paper that he had carried in with him. Sasuke knew that it was the role reserved for substitute teachers as it contained their school photo and ID.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka lifted his eyes from the paper and looked back at Sasuke. "Are you related to Uchiha Itachi by any chance?"

Sasuke just shrugged.

"I know him." Iruka continued on, taking the boy's silence as a yes. "Very bright student, he was. I hear he's in university. Sweetest boy I have ever met. Polite as a priest. Extremely quiet. Very rarely heard from him."

Sasuke just shrugged again. He didn't care much for being told about his brother – he lived with the guy and that was enough for him.

"I don't really care about my brother." Sasuke said quietly. "I don't wish to hear about how much everyone loves him."

Iruka frowned. Was this… was this the troubled student that all the teachers loved to talk about in the staff room…?

"Well, if that's how you feel, then I will stop talking about Itachi-kun." Iruka said, glancing back down at his sheet as the classroom door opened once again and more students piled in.

"Iruka-sensei!" One of the girls cried happily as she walked in through the door. "What are you doing talking to Sasuke? You shouldn't talk to him – he's a psycho!"

Iruka shook his head at this. Being a Psychology teacher and one of the school counsellors, he wondered if these kids were impacting on what already seemed to be a fragile mental state for Sasuke. With girls saying things like that right in front of him, it'd be no wonder why Sasuke didn't enjoy socialising in any of his classes – from what he had heard teachers say.

"Ten-Ten-chan," Iruka begun, "you should not say things about your fellow students like that. I'm sure that Sasuke-kun is a fine student – but if people are going to be talking about me like that, I wouldn't like school, either."

"Who cares about Sasuke?" The girl – Ten-Ten – sneered. She didn't miss the way that Sasuke's left eye twitched and the boy grit his teeth together. "No one here likes him anyway!"

"Ten-Ten, that is enough!" Iruka growled. "I've taught you long enough for you to know that I do not tolerate bullying in any way! Apologise to Sasuke-kun!"

Ten-Ten just sneered and turned her nose up as she glanced at Sasuke before sitting down with her friends and giggling about something Sasuke-related.

Iruka sighed as he glanced at the Uchiha. No wonder this boy had problems. He would have loved to go up and speak to Sasuke one-on-one but, by now, most of the class had already dropped in.

"Alright, guys, I'm going to take the roll." Iruka called, getting ready to begin the class. "Just raise your hand if you're present."

Minutes later, the class had begun. Iruka had instructed everyone to begin working on the Gestalt Principles while he roamed from desk to desk to see how everyone was going. When he got to Sasuke's desk, he was heartbroken to see that not only had the boy already finished his work, but he was currently doodling on the paper – and the pictures scared Iruka for the boy's sanity.

"Sasuke-kun…" Iruka knelt down next to Sasuke, pointing at a picture of what looked like a person being burnt alive. "…May I ask you what is compelling you to draw these… pictures…?"

Sasuke just shrugged and put his pen down. "I did my work. No one cares what I do as long as I've done my work."

"Yes, but Sasuke-kun, have the others seen these pictures…?"

Sasuke shrugged again. "I don't know. Teachers don't come near me normally."

"Sasuke-kun, I would like to book a counselling appointment with you if that's okay."

Sasuke was silent, glancing down at the picture that he had drawn of Ten-Ten being torn apart by his own angry hands. He smirked at what was supposed to be the blood before looking back at Iruka.

"I won't show up even if you do make a time." The Uchiha said before closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair.

"Is there anything that you would like to tell me, Sasuke-kun?" Iruka whispered, aware of the students trying to listen in to their conversation. "I won't tell anyone else – I promise."

"Hn." Sasuke just ignored Iruka, refusing to speak any longer.

Iruka sighed and returned back to helping the class with their work. One student grabbed his sleeve as he passed the young boy and tugged.

"Iruka-sensei?" The boy asked, confusion in his eyes.

"Yes?" Iruka smiled as he turned to face the chubby boy.

"I'm new to this school, but I've heard awful stories of Sasuke. You shouldn't go near him. Everyone says that he kills animals and writes horrible stuff and draws frightening things. They say he should be locked up and never allowed back out."

Iruka scrutinised the child. "What is your name?"

"Akimichi Chouji." The boy smiled. "My best friend asked me to come to this school because I was bullied at my other one."

"Hmm…" Iruka considered this information. It seemed that the boy meant no harm whatsoever and was only trying to help Iruka. He smiled. "You seem like a nice boy, Chouji-kun. I thank you for trying to warn me, but I don't think that any of that is true."

"Well…" Chouji shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know… He has that look in his eye… An angry, hateful look…"

Iruka patted Chouji's head in a reassuring manner. "I'm sure that Sasuke-kun is just misunderstood, but if you really feel that way about him, than perhaps it's best to stay away from him, right?"

"Umm…" Chouji soon smiled and nodded. "O-okay, sensei. That makes sense."

But then, almost as if it was all fate, a loud shout filled the air and something heavy was thrown onto one of the desks, breaking it.

Iruka turned, finding Sasuke standing before one of the boys whom was now laying on what was once a desk. Sasuke's shoulders shook with emotion as he panted heavily. All Iruka could look at was the boy's eyes – so… angry and hateful, but yet… empty.

"Sasuke, stop!" Iruka shouted, standing in front of the boy.

Sasuke's eyes seemed blurry and out-of-focus, like he wasn't there at that moment. While some of the kids who were frightened of Sasuke fled from the classroom, a lot of the others crowded around, watching the scene with hawk-like eyes.

"Sasuke, can you hear me…?" Iruka was quiet and made sure to speak in a gentle tone as he tried to gather the Uchiha's attention. "Sasuke…? Are you listening to me…?"

Slowly, Sasuke's eyes regained focus and he looked at Iruka. He panted heavily before collapsing onto his knees, just staring blankly ahead.

"Sasuke, I'm going to call someone to take you home, okay?" Iruka whispered, kneeling down next to the boy. He was careful not to touch him. "Is that alright?"

"…" Sasuke just nodded.

Iruka pulled out his phone before getting a contact number out of the school's laptop. He waited impatiently for an answer as he kept his eyes on the boy whom was just kneeling there, looking as if he were in a faraway land.

"Hello…?" Came the greeting from the other line.

"Is this the Uchiha residence?" Iruka asked.

"Itachi speaking."

"Oh, hello, Itachi, this is Iruka-sensei." Iruka was very careful about what he said to the older Uchiha just in case Sasuke was listening. "I was wondering if it would be too much trouble if Sasuke was brought home for the day?"

"Hn? What happened to him?" Iruka could hear the concern in the other's voice. "Is he okay?"

"Itachi, I'm honestly not sure… He's… Something has set him off and I think it would be best for him to go home and cool down before the school drags him to the principal's office and makes it all worse."

"Okay. I'm on my way. Send him out the front of the school and I'll be there shortly."

"Got it." With that said, Iruka hung up and approached Sasuke once again. "Sasuke-kun? Itachi is going to pick you up… He would like for you to wait out the front of the school…"

Sasuke just nodded, not even blinking. All he could think about was the way that his classmate had told him that he was nothing but his father's whore and maybe if his father had stopped fucking him all the time than maybe Sasuke wouldn't have such a big stick up his ass.

Sasuke had been tormented many ways, but that struck a hidden cord in him that had never been struck before. Though his father had never sexually abused him, what difference did that make? It all still hurt the same. That was why he had thrown the kid onto the other desk.

Sasuke closed his eyes. He was aware of Iruka putting his things back into his bag before passing it to him, but what he didn't remember was how he had wound up from the Psychology room all the way out in his brother's car with Itachi fussing over him in concern.

Sasuke clenched his teeth at this. No matter how much hell he would put Itachi through, the idiot just didn't get that he hated him and constantly fussed over Sasuke, trying to make sure that he would be fine.

Why couldn't Itachi just _die?_


	3. Chapter 3

"Sasuke, do you feel better?" Itachi asked for the third time since Sasuke had gotten into the car. They were almost home but that only made Itachi all the more concerned – if their parents were still at home and Fugaku knew what had happened... "Is there anything that I can do? Do you want to go to a doctor? Get an ice cream? What about –"

"Shut up, Itachi." Sasuke snarled. "I hate hearing your fucking annoying voice. I just want to sleep."

Itachi's eyes welled with tears but he nodded anyway. "Okay… My apologies…"

Sasuke shot a dark glare at his brother before resting against the door and closing his eyes. It felt like only seconds had passed before Itachi slowed the car and parked in their driveway. Itachi was quick to turn the vehicle off and run around to Sasuke's side to open the door for his brother.

Sasuke didn't say a word as he grabbed his bag and walked towards the house.

"Sasuke, how do you feel?"

Sasuke clenched his fists as his brother opened the front door for him. Couldn't Itachi understand that he wasn't a _baby? _He spat at Itachi's feet before stepping into the house and going upstairs to his bedroom, leaving a heartbroken Itachi behind.

As Sasuke stepped into his bedroom, he threw his bag down on the ground and sat on the bed, just staring at his hands. He didn't understand why he could see blood all over them, but he knew that he hadn't done anything _to get _blood on them today.

"Am I seeing things…?" Sasuke whispered to himself. He growled before shaking his head. "No… I'm not crazy… I-I'm not crazy at all… But fuck, am I tired…"

Having said that, Sasuke closed his eyes and laid down onto the bed. He was just about asleep, but a knock on his bedroom door startled him into the world of the conscious once again.

"What the fuck do you want now?" Sasuke screamed, throwing his pillow at his door. "I was just about asleep, you fucking bastard!"

There were a few sobs from the other side of the door before Itachi's tentative voice sounded. "…May… May I come in for a minute…?"

Sasuke sighed. He grabbed at his hair and ripped in frustration. "Fuck off!"

"But, Sasuke, it's important…"

"Whatever! I don't fucking care!"

Sasuke watched the door handle turn before the door was pushed open slowly. Itachi stood awkwardly in the doorway, hesitating badly before actually stepping into the room.

"Sasuke, our parents have gone away for the weekend…" Itachi whispered, his voice shaking. It was like he was terrified that Sasuke was going to attack him with a knife. "…They've left me in charge, and…"

Sasuke groaned and rolled his eyes. "You? In charge? Wow… I don't leave my room so what point is there in having _you _babysitting me?"

Itachi looked down at the ground. "…I-I apologise, Sasuke… I just wanted you to know…"

"Yes, and now that I know, there's no point of you still being in my room! You're in my space, fuckface!"

"Sasuke, wait – I -!"

Itachi had tried to say more but Sasuke was quick to get off his bed and shove him out of the door. He winced when the door was slammed in his face. Tears dripped down his cheeks and he found it almost impossible to stop himself from breaking down. He didn't want to disturb Sasuke more than he already had today, so he dragged himself downstairs to cry in the living room.

Sasuke, however, was in no mood for tears. He lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes, falling deep into a fitful sleep.

**-XX-**

"Mmm!"

Sasuke stifled a small yelp as he shot up in the bed, cold sweat dripping down his face as he panted heavily. He had awoken from a horrible nightmare. He didn't know why he always got so scared – he was used to dreaming about his childhood. He was used to dreaming about the time that his father had slaughtered his dog right in front of him when he was barely seven, about how his father would always drag a screaming Itachi out of the house and into the car to take him away somewhere – about how Itachi was the only protection he had ever had from his father.

Itachi had always been there for Sasuke when no one else was. When they were younger, Itachi would always wrap Sasuke in his arms and try to protect his brother from their father's rage – even if it meant giving himself to Fugaku to keep Sasuke safe.

Sasuke wiped at his face, trying to relax his breathing. He looked up into the mirror that hung above his desk. He wasn't surprised to see his face was pale from fear.

"I need a drink…" Sasuke whispered to himself, only just now aware of the pain in his throat.

Getting to his feet, Sasuke walked slowly out of his bedroom. He glanced at Itachi's door that was just down the hallway, trying to figure out if the older male was in there or not - the door was closed as it usually was.

"Stupid idiot's probably sleeping…" Sasuke rasped, rubbing his sore throat.

The young Uchiha continued on his way down to the kitchen, but he soon stopped at the top of the stairs as his brother's quiet laugh resonated throughout the air. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity – Itachi never laughed anymore. Not unless…

"Mmm, Itachi-kun, you're so wonderful…"

Sasuke's jaw clenched. So he was right – Itachi's bitch_ was _here, after all…

"Not as wonderful as you, Konan-chan…" Sasuke heard his brother reply in the quiet tone he held with everyone.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he stormed down the stairs. He didn't like it when Konan came over because Itachi was always happier when she was around. He didn't like seeing the smiles on the elder's face or the small laughs that Itachi would let out when he felt totally at piece with the older woman.

"Konan-chan, I – Sasuke?"

Sasuke smirked when he appeared in front of his brother and the blue-haired woman. He was glad he had arrived when he did – he had seen that Itachi was about to kiss Konan – and there was no way in hell Sasuke was going to let that happen.

"…Sasuke, what's wrong…?"

"Get her out…" Sasuke rasped, pointing to Konan. "I hate her… Get her out of my house!"

"Sasuke, calm down…" Itachi whispered, grabbing his girlfriend's hand and pulling her closer to him on the couch. "Konan-chan, go upstairs into my room and lock the door, okay?"

Konan nodded. She knew what Sasuke was like. She left the scene fairly quickly.

Itachi, however, was now cowering once again before his brother. "S-sasuke… P-please…"

Sasuke tilted his head to the side, smirking in delight. He absolutely loved the feeling of power he got when he made his brother crumble before his feet.

"What's wrong, Itachi…?" Sasuke said in a scratchy voice. He reached up to massage his sore throat. "Now that your bitch is gone, you can't stand up to me…?"

Itachi bit back a whimper as he stared at the ground beneath him. His eyes filled with tears. "…Your throat…"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Why would Itachi bring up something as trivial as a sore throat at a time like this?

"…Does it hurt…?"

Sasuke snarled before he kicked his brother in the face. "Why can't you just leave me alone…? Why do you always insist on worrying about me…? I fucking resent your fucking _existence, _Itachi, and all you do is concern yourself over me… I. Wish. You. Were. Dead."

Itachi bowed his head, but Sasuke knew that he was crying because the elder's shoulders were shaking uncontrollably and tears dripped down onto the carpet. He grabbed at the white carpet beneath his fingertips, needing something to keep him grounded.

Itachi gulped, closing his eyes. His voice only came out as a broken whisper. "…I can't leave you alone, because… despite everything… You're my brother… And I love you more than anything…"

"_Shut up!" _Sasuke screamed, kneeling beside his brother and punching the older Uchiha in his already-bloody face. _"I hate you! I hate you! I hate your fucking guts! I don't care if you're my brother – I still wish that you die a horrible, slow death!"_

"…Sasuke…" Itachi's sobs came more freely until the young man collapsed completely to the floor in a hysterical, bleeding mess. "…Sasuke…"

Sasuke just stared at his pathetic brother. He sneered. "I don't like it when Konan comes over – she makes you happy. I like you just like this – a weak excuse for a human."

And with that said, Sasuke left his brother on the ground as he continued on his way to the kitchen, intent on soothing his burning throat.

**-XX-**

"Itachi-kun, you're hurt…"

Sasuke cracked his eye open at Konan's voice. He smirked as he heard the worry in the woman's voice.

"K-konan-chan…" Sasuke had never heard Itachi sound so pained before. "Konan-c-chan…"

"Let me help you…" Konan whispered. Sasuke could hear the squeak of bedsprings, indicating that she must've gotten up from the bed. "Your mouth is bleeding so badly…"

"K-konan-chan…" Itachi had started to cry again now. "…I hate my life… I just want to die… Sasuke hates me… I love him so much… I just want to die…"

"Itachi-kun, no! You can't…"

Sasuke smirked at Itachi's confession. He closed his eye again, blocking out the voices as he drifted back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

When Sasuke woke up, it was in total darkness. He lazily glanced towards the window adjacent to his bed. The blood-red curtains were parted, revealing a black, cloudy sky. Thunder rumbled loudly and lightning lit up the heavens.

"Stupid storm…" Sasuke mumbled, getting to his feet with a yawn. "Stupid Itachi… Must be passed dinnertime… Where is my dinner, damnit?"

Sasuke jogged to his bedroom door and ripped it open. He arrived at Itachi's bedroom in record time before he kicked the door open. He stepped in just in time to see Itachi sit up on the bed with wide, teary eyes, as if he had been startled out a depressing sleep.

"S-sasuke…" Itachi whispered.

"Where is my fucking dinner?" Sasuke roared. "I'm fucking hungry!"

"I-I'm sorry, S-sasuke…!" Itachi was quick to jump to his feet. "I didn't realise t-the time…! I'll make it for you r-r-right now…!"

Sasuke watched as the older Uchiha run from the room as if Hell's hounds were on his trail. He glanced back into the bedroom, noticing that Konan was nowhere in sight. He smirked – he must have scared the woman off again.

Sasuke travelled down the stairs slowly. He could hear his brother banging around in the kitchen. Itachi was probably scared out of his mind and desperate to fix something for Sasuke as soon as he could – something that was quick to make but still very appealing.

"G-got to m-m-make something…" Itachi stuttered to himself as he rummaged through the pantry. "S-sasuke is h-hungry…"

Sasuke walked into the kitchen, smirking at the sorry sight of his brother. Itachi was shaking uncontrollably and tears ran down his pale cheeks. Blood stained his right cheek – he must have been sleeping on his right side and blood dribbled out of his mouth.

"Stop talking to yourself and hurry up." Sasuke growled. He loved terrorising Itachi – there was nothing better than watching Itachi turn into a puddle of horror.

Itachi jumped in surprised but nodded. "Y-yes, Sasuke…"

Sasuke leant back against the counter, watching as Itachi turned the stove on and poured water into a pot. He was surprised that the long-haired male was going to make ramen – something that took a long time to make.

Sasuke grabbed a tomato from the counter and chewed on it slowly, smirking at the sight of Itachi's violently shaking hands.

Minutes had passed and Sasuke could see the steam rising from the pot of boiling water. Itachi was in total silence as he tried to prepare everything else.

"So," Sasuke broke the silence, a sneer crossing his face, "what happened to Konan? Did she finally leave your pathetic ass?"

Itachi stopped what he was doing and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks.

"…She did, actually…" Itachi whispered. "…She said… that she loved me, but… she called me 'broken'… She said –"

"But you _are _broken." Sasuke laughed. "I don't care about your stupid romance problems, Itachi. She was a bitch, anyway."

"…" Itachi turned to face Sasuke – something which shocked the younger as Itachi usually avoided all eye-contact. "…She left because of you…"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Was Itachi… angry…? "Yeah, and…?"

"She was what kept me stable…" Itachi continued on. His voice soon grew stronger and emotion fell into the normally-stoic voice. "…The only one that I could talk to… She left… Because of _you."_

Sasuke just shrugged. "Not my problem."

Itachi placed the knife that he had been using to cut up the fishcakes back on the counter and stood up, facing Sasuke.

"You made my girlfriend leave me, Sasuke…" Itachi whispered. Tears streamed harder from his eyes, but Sasuke wasn't sure if it was because he was depressed or angry.

Sasuke immediately felt threatened – just because of the things Itachi was saying. It was either him or Itachi, and he was not going to let Itachi hurt him because of that blue-haired whore.

Without warning, Sasuke had lunged forward and grabbed his brother's hair, dragging him over to the stove. Itachi struggled and whimpered, trying to get away, but Sasuke was stronger than he was. He forced Itachi's face down and into the pot of boiling water.

**To read the rest of this chapter, please go to my adultfanction account.**


	5. Chapter 5

_They're back…_

Sasuke glared out of his window as his parents' SUV pulled into the driveway. He wasn't expecting them to return for two days. He sighed at the thought of the beating that he was going to get from his father when they found Itachi in the kitchen.

"Even when he's dead, he's still causing me problems…" Sasuke snarled to himself.

The house was silent for a few more moments until Sasuke heard the front door swing open. He heard his mother calling for Itachi and he, but he wasn't going to reply.

Sasuke counted down the moments with a grin until he heard his mother's horrified scream and Fugaku's shouts. Fugaku seemed to be running upstairs to his room.

"Sasuke, you bastard!" Fugaku's shouts could be heard clear as day. "Sasuke, you just about burnt the fucking house down! How dare you? The fucking stove was on fire, you little shit!"

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh. All of this fuss over burning the house down? Wow – Fugaku really had his priorities right.

Sasuke just stared at the door, smiling as it was knocked off its hinges and Fugaku stormed in. "Hello, Father. Did you see Itachi by any chance?"

Fugaku rushed to Sasuke's side, punching the boy in the face. "Sasuke, I don't give a shit about your brother – I care about the fucking house almost being set on fire!"

"Clearly I wasn't aware of the fire or I would have subjected Itachi to it." Sasuke smiled innocently.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Fugaku screamed, slapping Sasuke across the face. "You sick little boy! What the _fuck _is wrong with you?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Nothing's wrong with me – what's wrong with you?"

Fugaku snarled and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck, squeezing tight enough to cut the boy's air supply off. Sasuke struggled weakly, but it was no good – Sasuke had soon entered the world of the unconscious.

**-XX-**

"I just don't know what to do anymore…"

"Mrs. Uchiha, I really think you'd be better off taking him to a specialist –"

"No! I-I can't! If Fugaku knew that I've taken Sasuke to a psychologist, he'd kill us both!"

"Mrs. Uchiha, I really would love to help – but Sasuke needs more than just –"

"Please, Iruka-san! Please! You've got to help my boy…! Please…! He's… He's all I've got…"

Sasuke stared blankly out of the school counsellor's office window as his mother and Iruka conversed. He didn't understand why Mikoto was so desperate for him to talk to someone – he had done the right thing, hadn't he? Or maybe it was because Itachi had survived…

Sasuke grit his teeth at the thought of not having done the job right. He should have slit Itachi's throat for good measure, just in case… He had wanted Itachi to suffer slowly and bleed to death – and that would have worked had their parents not came home.

"Sasuke, dear…?" Mikoto called her son timidly, wiping at her wet eyes. "Sasuke, are you okay…?"

Sasuke slowly turned to face his mother. He showed no emotion as he glanced around the room in a bored manner.

"What?" Sasuke growled.

"Sasuke, will you please talk to me?" Iruka - the same man who had tried to talk to Sasuke at school the other day – pleaded. "It's important that you talk to me, Sasuke…"

Sasuke just shrugged. "I don't see what I did wrong. Itachi was a pathetic piece of shit in the first place – I was just trying to do the world a favour."

Mikoto cried harder at these words. It must have been the worst thing in the world for her to have to hear her son say these things after attempting to kill his brother.

"Sasuke-kun, why do you think of Itachi like this?" Iruka asked in a gentle voice. "Why is it that you don't like him? Has he ever hurt you?"

"…" Sasuke closed his eyes as he thought about the question. Moments passed and Sasuke just shrugged. "I don't know. I just hate him."

"Has he hurt you?"

Sasuke just shrugged again. "I don't know. Maybe. I don't remember him hurting me."

Iruka looked at Mikoto. Mikoto shook her head.

"Itachi has never harmed his brother – _ever." _Mikoto whispered.

Iruka frowned. "Sasuke-kun, can you tell me about your life, please?"

Sasuke looked up, making eye contact with Iruka. He glared. "Why do you want to know about my life…?"

"Because I want to help you, Sasuke-kun." Iruka spoke honestly. "I need to know about you and your life so I can try and help you."

"I cut. I sleep. I eat. I get angry. And then I cut some more. _That _is my life."

Iruka shook his head sadly. Mikoto was crying into her hands hysterically. He had never seen a mother so torn up about their child before.

"Sasuke-kun… Let's play a game."

"Tch." Sasuke scroffed. "A game? Why would I want to play a stupid game?"

Iruka was silent as he reached under his desk and pulled out a tin of cards. "I'm going to choose some cards and you're going to answer the questions."

"I won't talk." Sasuke shrugged. "Try and make me."

Iruka ignored Sasuke once again as he chose certain cards and spread them around on the floor between him and the two Uchiha. Sasuke leant forward and grabbed a card.

"What does it say, Sasuke-kun?" Iruka asked.

"It's asking me what I value in life." Sasuke hissed, narrowing his eyes at the card.

"What _do _you value?"

"…" Sasuke shrugged. "…I don't know… Animals, I guess…"

Iruka smiled. "Why is that, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke shrugged again. "Dunno. Maybe because a lot of people hurt them. …Like my father…"

Iruka couldn't help but frown as Sasuke whispered the last part of his sentence. "Would you like to tell me about that, Sasuke-kun?"

"…Father killed my dog…" Sasuke whispered again, looking down at his lap. He clenched his hands tightly. "…His name was… Nakama…"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun… I really am… We can move on…?"

"Nakama didn't do any wrong…" Sasuke whispered. Iruka was sure that tears were welling up in the teen's eyes. "He just didn't like Father hitting me… He kept barking, and… and Father grabbed him by the ears… Nakama had long, floppy ears, you see…? Anyway, Father dragged him by the ears into the kitchen… He made me follow… and then… he grabbed a hammer out of the drawer… He kept hitting Nakama's head… Blood was everywhere… Nakama was… he was screaming… And then Father… he put a knife through my dog's skull…"

Tears dripped down Sasuke's cheeks and his body shook. His clenched hands rested on his knees as he doubled forward, crying.

"Nakama didn't deserve to die!" Sasuke cried. "He was… my only friend…! And Father killed him…!"

Iruka felt his heart shatter at these words. Didn't that boy Chouji say that Sasuke killed animals? This didn't seem like a boy who would harm an animal.

"Sasuke-kun, I am so very sorry to hear that…" Iruka soothed. "No one should have to experience something like that – not an animal, either…"

"…I cried to Itachi all night…" Sasuke continued on. "…I did… And Itachi cried, too… But he made sure I was alright…"

"Sasuke-kun…"

Mikoto seemed lost for words. She just couldn't seem to speak anymore as she cried.

"What do you think of animals, Iruka…?" Sasuke whispered, looking up at the counsellor.

"Animals… are beautiful. I suppose I love them. I don't have any pets but… I would like to have a dog one day."

"If you get a dog…" Sasuke stopped speaking so he could wipe at his tears. "…If you do get one… Love him… Because he'll love you to the end…"

Iruka nodded. "I will, Sasuke-kun. I promise."

Sasuke looked down at the pile of cards still on the ground. "…Do I…?"

"We can stop if you'd like, Sasuke-kun." Iruka smiled.

Sasuke nodded, sitting back on his chair. He looked at his mother before turning to stare out of the window once again.

"Sasuke-kun, how would you feel about talking to me again another day?" Iruka asked.

Sasuke just shrugged. "…I… You didn't… You didn't judge me…"

Iruka blinked. "…Judge you…? Why on earth would I judge you, Sasuke-kun?"

"…Because I cried… Because I got my dog killed… Because I tried to kill my own brother..."

"Sasuke-kun, I've never judged you. And I would _never _judge _anyone _for crying – the people who do don't deserve to be around people. _You _didn't get your dog killed – your father was a horrible person to do that, and your brother… Sasuke-kun, I won't even judge you for that."

Sasuke looked back at Iruka, tilting his head. "…You… You won't…? …Everyone else would…"

"Yes, but I'm not everyone else, Sasuke-kun. May I speak to your mother?"

Sasuke shrugged for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "I don't care…"

"Mrs. Uchiha, I really feel that Sasuke…"

Sasuke didn't care to hear their conversation. He just locked himself in his own little world.

**-XX-**

Two days had passed. Sasuke was left home alone for almost the entire duration. Fugaku had been so enraged about his son's behaviour that he had barely left his office. Sasuke was confused as to why Fugaku refused to allow other police to investigate what had happened, but he supposed that if Sasuke were convicted of attempted murder and homicide, then Fugaku would lose his toy now that Itachi was in hospital on life support.

Mikoto was spending almost all of her time with Itachi in the hospital. She had explained to Sasuke after her first visit that the young man _would _have died had they not arrived back home when they had.

Sasuke didn't understand why Mikoto had not been angry or yelled or even spoke badly to Sasuke – Mikoto treasured both of her children and he could see just how devastated she was over this.

The young Uchiha was sitting in his room as he waited for Mikoto to return home with dinner. Ever since he had spoken with Iruka, he felt numb inside. He had been crying at random intervals, but he couldn't understand what was wrong with him. He had never felt this way before.

"What is wrong with me…?" Sasuke whispered to himself. "…What…?"

Sasuke wiped at the tears that were streaming down his face. He heard the front door open and close and his mother calling for him to come down and get dinner. He found his mother in the kitchen just moments later, sorting out the McDonald's she had bought for herself and Sasuke.

"Sasuke, baby…" Mikoto turned to face her son as she handed him the plate. Sasuke looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "…Honey, I think it will be best if we get you professional help… I want to take you to a mental health facility…"

Sasuke felt his stomach drop at these words. He threw the plate of food at the wall behind his mother and gripped at his hair, ripping. Small noises escaped his throat, no matter how bad he tried to contain them.

"Don't send me to a loony bin…!" Sasuke whimpered. "Please, Mother…! I-I'm not fucking crazy…! I'm not…!"

"Sasuke, sweetie…" Mikoto whispered, putting her hands on Sasuke's shoulders. "Dear, I love you so much! That's why I want you to get the best help that you possibly could!"

"Mother, I-I'm not sick!" Sasuke screamed ripping chunks of black hair out. "You hate me! Y-you just want to get rid of me!"

"No, I don't! I swear! I love you so much! You need help, Sasuke! You're ill!"

"I'm not!"

Sasuke let out an ear-splitting scream before collapsing to the ground. He panted, crying. He flinched as his mother knelt next to him and rested a hand on his back. He felt so weak… So useless… So… unwanted…

Sasuke had always felt hated – hell, he knew that he was – but never before had he ever felt like his mother hated him and didn't want him. The sheer shock of feeling unwanted by his mother had sparked a panic in him that he had never felt before.

Maybe Sasuke could lie to himself about how much he hated Itachi and everyone else, but when it all came down to it, Sasuke was just a scared, lonely kid who couldn't live without his mother.

Why did she want to get him of him…? Did she… hate him that much…?


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N A few people were wondering about whether or not Itachi will still be in the story. He will be, but I can't really tell you when he'll come back because I still have to work that out myself :P I mean – he could come back next chapter or five chapters later or whatever! But I promise that he shall return :D**

"Look at those cuts…"

Sasuke looked down at the ground, trying to ignore the voices surrounding him.

"His entire left arm is completely scarred and scabbed over… His right arm isn't much better…"

"Look at his eyes… They're so angry…"

"I can feel something off about this one…"

"No wonder you brought him to us, Mrs. Uchiha…"

Sasuke glanced up at his mother. He felt completely numb as he and his crying-mother were surrounded by workers down at the Konoha Mental Institute.

"Please help my baby…"

Sasuke wasn't sure why his mother was acting like she cared about him so much –if she cared, she wouldn't be doing this to him!

"Mrs. Uchiha, we will do all we can. If you fill out these forms, we can arrange for Sasuke-kun to be institutionalised immediately…"

"Will you…?"

Sasuke was almost silent as he stood up and walked out of the office. He heard people calling his name, but he knew that his mother would let him be – he just wanted some alone time and attempt to register everything that had happened.

Sasuke didn't pay attention to where he was going – he just went wherever his feet took him. He soon found himself outside, standing before the doors as he surveyed the street before him. It was a quiet one with lots of green gardens and trees decorating the mental hospital.

"Why does my mother hate me so much…?" Sasuke whispered to himself. He just didn't understand what he had done wrong. "I… I thought that she would be on the one person in the world who would never hate me…"

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold in the tears that were threatening to spill over.

"…I guess I was wrong… I guess I was just stupid to believe that there could be someone – just one person – out there who wouldn't hate me… I'm such an idiot… No one could ever_ not_ hate me… Even… my own mother…"

Sasuke sat down on the ground, grabbing at his hair. He rested his face against his wrists, shaking as he tried to silence his sobs. Tears ran down pale cheeks as Sasuke _cried. _

It had been a long time since Sasuke had really cried. Before the night Mikoto had admitted she wanted Sasuke to get help, it had been a good five years since Sasuke had cried. And now, as he sat here in such turmoil, he couldn't help but fear for his sanity- what was happening with him? Why was everything going wrong?

"I bet it's all Itachi's fault…" Sasuke whispered, wiping at his eyes. "Everything was fine until he made me try and kill him… I should – h-huh?"

Sasuke jumped as something small and wet poked at the exposed skin on his knee. He looked down, finding a tiny white puppy with brown markings on its ears, poking at him with its nose.

"…" Sasuke glanced around. He didn't see anyone else in sight. He picked the puppy up, looking at it closely. "…You're cute… What's your name, little guy?"

The puppy's tail wagged and it let out a few excited yips. Sasuke couldn't help but let a small smile creep up on his face.

"Where's your owner? Oh – you've got a collar. Let me see."

Sasuke grabbed the small tags that were hanging off of a red collar. He read that the dog's name was Akamaru. Sasuke grinned and pulled the puppy to his chest, hugging it.

"Akamaru, huh? Whoever owns you must be a lucky person…"

Everything was silent for a few minutes more. Sasuke was just smiling down at the dog that he was holding, feeling a kind of happiness and comfort that he had not felt for so long. It all felt right until –

"_Get the fuck away from my dog!"_

Sasuke jumped in surprise. He instinctively clutched the small dog tighter to his chest, hard enough to emit a small yelp. His eyes welled up with tears at the sound. He refused to look up when rushed footsteps approached. He was knocked backwards onto the hard cement when something connected with his face.

"_You sick fucking piece of shit!" _

Sasuke knew that voice – it belonged to an enraged Kiba.

"_How dare you try and kill my dog! I'll kill you right now!"_

Sasuke's eyes snapped wide open at these words. He wasn't going to let _anyone _try and kill him – especially not someone like _Kiba_. He got back to his feet and caught the fist that Kiba had thrown at him before kicking the Inuzuka's legs out from under him.

Kiba fell onto the ground and Sasuke was quick to climb on top of him. He grabbed the brown-haired boy by the scruff of his shirt, raising him up a little as he landed punch after punch into Kiba's face.

Sasuke was unaware of the hospital doors opening and a few workers ran out. They grabbed him around his middle, prying him away from the now-unconscious Kiba. Sasuke struggled and screamed as he fought to get away and continue pummelling Kiba, but that all stopped when a syringe pierced his skin and tiredness overwhelmed him.

Sasuke was carried back into the hospital and placed immediately in a strait-jacket. Mikoto was forced to say goodbye to her son. When he would wake up, he would find himself in a room with padded walls.

**-XX-**

Days had passed. Sasuke had been left in almost total isolation. The only people who had visited him were orderlies – and they only came once each day to check on him.

Sasuke couldn't handle anything about his situation any longer. He felt like every piece of freedom he had ever had had just been stripped away from him – even the ones taken for granted, such as the freedom to even _move his fucking arms. _

Sasuke had never cried as much as he had since he awoke in this room. He rarely left the corner he had designated as his place to curl up and cry, and he hated it. It seemed that all he could do was cry anymore. Either that, or scream incoherently until someone arrived with the syringe that knocked him out.

When the door opened again while Sasuke had been crying and whimpering to himself, he was quick to turn his back to the door and bury his face in against the padded walls.

"Sasuke-kun…?"

Sasuke flinched as his name was spoken. He recognised the voice, but he wasn't sure where.

"Sasuke-kun, are you alright? Your mother has been so worried about you…"

Sasuke couldn't help but let a strangled laugh sound. His mother? _Worried? She _was the one who had put him in here!

"If she cared, she wouldn't have done this to me…" Sasuke whispered. He turned to face the intruder with a red, tear-stained face. He was shocked to see that Iruka was standing in the doorway. "But she put me in here and left me all alone so that she could cry and spend time with _Itachi…"_

"No… Your mother loves you both very much, Sasuke-kun. You have to try and understand how hard this is for your mother."

"What do you care?" Sasuke turned his back once again to Iruka. "I bet you're the one who talked her into this. I know what you shrinks are like…"

Iruka sighed. "Sasuke-kun, I am going to be honest here – yes, I did suggest that your mother do this, but I didn't talk her into it. I explained to her that the help you're in need of is far too great for your mother – or even I – to give you alone. We're only looking into your best interests, Sasuke-kun – which is why myself and Kakashi have decided to work as a team and try and help you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. "…Kakashi from school…? _He's _a shrink…?"

Iruka smiled and nodded. "Licensed Psychiatrist. I myself am only a Psychologist – that's why I've asked him to help out."

Sasuke groaned and grabbed his head. "Do you really think I'm that insane for _two _head-doctors to be working on me…?"

"Not at all, Sasuke-kun – but you _are _in need of medication. That's where Kakashi comes in."

Sasuke turned and glared at Iruka. "You dare try and pump me full of pills and I'll slit your throat…"

"Relax, Sasuke-kun. Nobody is going to try and pump you full of anything. There's only so much that can be done without medication."

Sasuke's eyes welled up with tears. He shook his head. "…Don't… _Stop making me feel like I'm crazy!"_

"Sasuke-kun, you're not crazy." Iruka said gently. "You're not crazy – you just need a bit of help. It's nothing to be ashamed of, Sasuke-kun."

Tears dripped down Sasuke's cheeks. "…I… I don't need help… Just… _leave me alone!"_

Iruka stepped further into the room. He approached Sasuke and sat down beside the boy. He reached out and stroked Sasuke's hair in a comforting manner before deciding to pull the boy into a hug. He was glad that he had, because at this action, Sasuke allowed the floodgates to open.

Sasuke moved to bury his face in Iruka's chest and cry harder than he could remember crying before.

"You're not crazy, Sasuke-kun…" Iruka whispered. "You're just ill and in need of help… It's nothing to be ashamed of – I promise."

Minutes flew by as Iruka held the Uchiha. Sasuke had eventually cried himself to sleep in his hold. He was reluctant to let go of the boy. When Kakashi had shown up – late as usual – Iruka refused to wake Sasuke and cause further distress for the boy.

"We'll come back tomorrow." Iruka whispered to Kakashi as he ever-so-carefully laid Sasuke back down onto the ground. "He's still worked up about the hospital."

Kakashi nodded. "Alright. I don't know why you're doing it, though – the kid's a real psycho."

Iruka turned and narrowed his eyes at the grey-haired man. "Kakashi, you of all people should know not to judge others on appearances and preconceptions… The whole reason I asked for the both of us to be the ones to help him was because he knows me somewhat and I think it would be best for me to be there with whoever is talking to him. If you're going to be an ass about it, I'll find someone else who cares."

Kakashi sighed. "Fine… Let's go."

Iruka nodded. He took one last look at Sasuke before leaving with Sasuke. He could only hope that the boy could be helped.

**A/N If anyone has any suggestions or request for this story, I'd love to hear them – I'm becoming a little stuck with progressing this fic. I almost could not write the start of it (took me two days just for the first chapter), and now the middle is being a bitch, grr! Impossible fics are impossible -.-**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N A great big thanks to Ai Chiyo because she basically thought up the entire plot from here-on out as we exchanged ideas! And thanks to everyone else for their suggestions, too – they shall be tied in whenever possible! :D**

"I never took you to be a shrink…" Sasuke mumbled as he sat on the floor of his room across from both Kakashi and Iruka. "You don't even seem like the kind of person to give one shit about others' problems…"

"Sasuke, he does care." Iruka smiled. "He just gives people that impression."

Sasuke glared at the Hatake for a few moments more. He didn't seem convinced.

"Anyway, Sasuke, we're here to talk about _you." _Kakashi said in the usual lazy tone he used with everyone. "Iruka has already filled me in on what he knows, but we do need to find out everything that we can."

Sasuke just looked down at the ground. "Why can't you just leave me alone…? I… I don't have problems, I… I'm fine… It's everyone else who thinks that I have problems, but I _don't!"_

"Sasuke-kun, we just want to ask you a few questions." Iruka said in a soft tone. He reached out and rested a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "I promise. We'll ask a few questions and let you rest for the day. We'll talk to you tomorrow seriously, alright?"

Sasuke took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Well, how bad could a few questions be…?

"…Okay…" Sasuke mumbled, looking away.

Kakashi was quick to start his interrogation. "Sasuke, when did you begin hating your brother?"

Sasuke shrugged. "'Bout seven, I guess…"

Iruka looked at Kakashi in curiosity.

"Why start with that question?" Iruka whispered.

"It's an estimate of how long he's been a whack-job for." Kakashi whispered back.

Iruka sighed – Kakashi had never been known for sugar-coating things…

"Sasuke, on a scale of one to ten, how happy are you?"

Sasuke shrugged. "You've seen my arms… Does that look like the work of a happy person?"

Iruka frowned. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and help that troubled boy. "What about right now, Sasuke-kun? What would you rate your mood as?"

"Shit." Sasuke mumbled. "A zero."

"Are most days a zero?" Kakashi asked, writing something on his clipboard.

Sasuke shrugged again. "I guess so…"

"Do you cry often, Sasuke-kun?" Iruka's voice was so gentle. It made Sasuke want to open up to him.

Sasuke was silent for a few moments as he thought. "…I hadn't cried for years… until Mother told me… she was bringing me here… And now, I… can't… stop crying…"

"What do you think about when you cry, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"…Everything…" Sasuke whispered, tearing up. "…But most of all… about how I just want to die…"

**-XX-**

"Itachi, baby, what are you doing?"

Itachi turned weakly to face his mother. He observed with a blank gaze, letting go of the bandage on his stomach that he was pulling at.

"You shouldn't be playing with those, Itachi." Mikoto whispered, reaching out and grabbing her son's hand. "You might hurt yourself."

Itachi blinked before releasing the bandage and turning to stare out of the window across from his hospital bed. Tears ran down his cheeks as he remembered the last night he had spent with his brother.

"Itachi, honey…" Mikoto sat down on the bed beside Itachi, stroking at the male's hair. "Baby, are you okay?"

Itachi nodded weakly, pushing into the hand that was caressing his head. He didn't like looking at his mother; she was covered in bruises because Fugaku had been taking it all out on her.

"Don't cry, Itachi." Mikoto whispered, wiping at the tears that trailed down the young man's cheeks. "What's upsetting you?"

Itachi was silent. He didn't even bother gracing his mother with a glance. He just continued to stare out of the window, unable to stop thinking about how badly Sasuke had hurt him. He knew that no matter what his brother had done to him that night, the emotional pain hurt far more than any other physical pain he had been through.

Itachi didn't understand why Sasuke hated him, but he could see now that if his brother hated him enough to try and kill him, then the younger didn't deserve all of the love and concern that he had lavished upon the younger.

Things were silent between his mother and him for a few minutes more until Mikoto's phone rang. He heard her telling him that she was going outside to take the call privately. He just nodded absentmindedly.

Minutes had passed. Mikoto still hadn't returned. Those minutes turned into an hour and she still wasn't back. Hell, Itachi was sure that she had returned just as he had finally gotten to sleep.

"Itachi-kun…"

Itachi groaned inwardly and opened his eyes. He looked up to see who had addressed him, coming face-to-face with a man with ginger hair and enough facial piercings to set off a metal detector from a mile away.

"Itachi-kun, my name is Pein," the man continued on. "Your mother has organised with us for you to be a part of the therapy group that I run down at Konoha Mental Institution."

Itachi closed his eyes, trying to hold back tears. "…Why…?"

"Because Mikoto-san has been concerned that you've suffered severe trauma." Pein turned his head to face Mikoto at this statement. Mikoto nodded. "It is completely up to you whether or not you would like to join us, but I strongly recommend it – even if you feel normal."

"…" Memories flashed before Itachi's eyes, making the man quiver. He opened his eyes, staring at Pein just below the other's eyes. "…This therapy… Will it be just for… that night…?"

Pein shook his head. "No. If there are other things that you feel have played a negative roll in your life, feel free to seek help from us with those as well. Our group is called the Akatsuki, _where every dawn brings a new beginning."_

"…" Itachi felt tears drip down his cheeks. He turned to look at his mother. "…Mother…? I don't… Father…"

Mikoto stepped forward and reached out, grabbing Itachi's cold hand. "Itachi, baby, I have been a terrible mother… The least I can do is allow you to talk about your Father and try and get help for yourself… I will keep it a secret – I promise."

Itachi wiped at the tears that only seemed to run faster. "…Mother… I love you…"

"I love you, too, dear…"

Itachi turned to the ginger with a small, lopsided smile. "…I will do it for my mother…"

Pein returned the smile. "Okay, Itachi-kun. I expect to see you as soon as you're available. We run sessions every day in the late afternoon. Your mother knows all of this."

Itachi nodded and pulled his mother into a hug. He cried into her shoulder, gripping the woman's blue shirt like a lifeline. Mikoto hugged back, rubbing the man's head.

"There, there, Itachi…" Mikoto whispered, kissing her son's temple. "I have you, Itachi… Shh…"

Itachi wasn't sure of how long it had taken, but he had eventually cried himself to sleep in his mother's arms.

**-XX-**

One day had passed for Sasuke. He had finally been removed from what had been his prison and placed into a room with another patient – but he had quickly found out that this hospital was _not _a good one. Most of the staff were cruel and insensitive to their patients – especially to Sasuke. He had heard them whispering about him and shooting him nasty glances every time they crossed paths. It seemed that they loved talking about the scars that marred his once-perfect skin and the angry disposition that was known as Sasuke.

At least Sasuke had been freed of that horrible strait-jacket, thanks to Kakashi and Iruka.

Sasuke walked quickly, trying to keep up with one of the nicer orderlies as she led him to the room that he was supposed to be sharing with someone else.

"This is a person known as Sasori," the orderly explained as they stopped outside of a room. "He's a bit of a head case – he thinks that he is a puppet. But I'm sure that with your quiet nature, you and he should get along fine. Just don't disagree with his view of art and he should leave you be."

Sasuke nodded. He stepped through the door once it had been opened. He looked around the room. There were two beds on either side of the room with a window in between them. Puppets were the only thing to decorate the room – they hung from the roof on strings or sat on the small benches that had been wheeled in. A few were even on both beds.

"Who is this?" A gruff voice asked.

Sasuke jumped in surprise and looked quickly towards the bed on the left of the room. A tiny person who greatly resembled a child with red hair sat on the bed, a half-created wooden puppet in his hands. Sasuke had not even seen him there when he looked around the room.

"This is Sasuke." The orderly said. "He's your new roommate. He's quiet, unlike the last one. I'm sure that you'll get along fine."

Sasori shrugged and Sasuke remained quiet. The Uchiha stepped further into the room. He felt so out-of-place right now.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I know that Itachi will seem OOC even more than he does in previous ones, but you need to know that it is him re-living past trauma that is doing it to him in this chapter.**

"'_tachi-nii…" Five-year-old Sasuke grabbed his brother's hand as the shouting from downstairs begun travelling up the stairs and into the bedroom. "'tachi-nii, daddy is shouting again…"_

_Itachi was curled up on his bed with his arms around his little brother. He rocked back and forth, whimpering in between reassuring his brother that it would be okay._

"'_tachi-nii, why does daddy hate us…?" Tears welled up in the boy's eyes and he buried his face in Itachi's clothed chest. "Did we… do something wrong, again…?"_

_Itachi shuddered at Sasuke's choice of words and shook his head. "No… F-father… is just… a-angry…"_

"_Don't understand, 'tachi-nii…" Tears overflowed from Sasuke's large, onyx eyes. "Daddy… always angry…"_

_Itachi choked on a sob before replying. "…He… wasn't always angry…"_

"_Daddy always been angry…" Sasuke disagreed, snuggling in closer to his brother. "I… I not remember him… not angry…"_

_Itachi sighed and wiped at the tears that trailed down his cheeks. His rocking became quicker and he pulled Sasuke onto his lap, hugging the younger boy. _

"_Am I a good brother, Sasuke…?" Itachi whispered, glancing at the younger with wide, fearful eyes. "I'm a good brother, aren't I…?"_

_Sasuke nodded without hesitation. "'tachi-nii… best big brother in world…"_

_Itachi seemed to let out a sigh of relief at these words. He tightened his hold on Sasuke._

"_Love you, Sasuke…" Itachi whispered. He rested his face in the shiny black hair of his brother, closing his eyes as he cried quietly._

"_Love you, too…"_

_Minutes had passed. Both boys were almost asleep, but they were soon awoken by Itachi's bedroom door slamming against the wall._

_Sasuke squealed as his father's hand grabbed him by the hair and threw him away. Itachi started to cry harder, shielding himself from his father as he screamed, pleading to be left alone. _

_Fugaku turned to look at Sasuke with rage burning in his eyes. _

"_Sasuke, get your ass out of here and go to your room!" Fugaku bellowed._

_Sasuke didn't need to be told twice – he left the room almost immediately, running to his own bedroom. He could hear his brother's horrible screams and his father's groans, but he didn't understand what was happening. He was more concerned about the loud banging against the wall. What were they doing in there?_

"_Nii-san…" Sasuke whispered. He was terrified of his father. He truly was. He wanted to go and find Nakama, but he was too scared to leave his room. The last time he had left his room without Father telling him that it was alright, he had been beaten and locked in his room for three days without any food._

"_Nakama…" Sasuke whimpered, grabbing his pillow. He buried his face into the pillow and sobbed, trying to block out his brother's screams and his father's noises. "Nakama…!"_

**-XX-**

Sasuke's eyes opened hours later. He glanced around the room, barely remembering what had just happened. He saw that Sasori was still playing around with his puppets, not paying any attention to him.

Sasuke sat up and glanced towards the window. Sun was still shining into the room and the door had been left open. Did Sasori have free range in this place?

"You're breathing too loud."

Sasuke jumped at Sasori's voice. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Sasori. He could see that the red-head wasn't even paying attention to him at all.

"I'll breathe however loud I want." Sasuke hissed.

Sasori remained emotionless. "You need to respect your elders, Sasuke. You're as bad as the brat that was here before you."

"Why would I respect someone who doesn't respect _me?" _Sasuke growled. "_No one _respects me, so why would I give it to others?"

"Maybe no one respects you because you give them reason _not _to respect you. Have you ever thought of that?"

Sasuke had no comeback. Truth be told, he _hadn't _thought of that.

"Speak up, brat." Sasori growled. "I don't like to be kept waiting."

"…N-no…" Sasuke stuttered for the first time in a long time. "…I hadn't…"

"Give me a reason to respect you and I just might." Sasori said gruffly. "What's your view on art?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know… Never thought about it…"

Sasori put the puppet down on the bed beside him and turned to stare at Sasuke incredulously. "You never thought about art…?"

"…I draw…" Sasuke said, tensing up. He didn't like the way Sasori was looking at him.

"Drawing?" Sasori scoffed. "True art is eternal."

Sasuke looked down at his lap. He nodded. "…Maybe it is… I just never thought about it before…"

Sasori stared for a few seconds more before turning back to his puppet. "Whatever. I'll show you around later."

Sasuke just shrugged and lay back down on the bed. He watched the older man for a while before drifting back into a deep sleep.

**-XX-**

Itachi sat in his father's car, rigid as a door. They were parked outside of the mental asylum where Itachi's therapy courses were being held. Mikoto was begging Itachi to get out of the car, but the young man was absolutely terrified of the idea.

"Itachi, baby, please…" Mikoto whispered, tugging at her son's hand. "Come on, honey… It'll be okay…"

Tears dripped down Itachi's cheeks in rivers as his eyes stared blankly straight ahead, unmoving and unseeing. His body quivered as if he were having a seizure.

"Itachi, darling… I love you so much… I only want you to get better…"

Itachi's mind was on overdrive. He had always been horrified of his father's car, and being in it once more brought the memories he had blocked out back to the surface.

"Sweetie, you need to get out of the car…" Mikoto whispered as she cupped the boy's cheek. "Sweetie, it's mommy…"

"Daddy, please…" Itachi whispered in a manner that made Mikoto realise that her son wasn't in reality any longer. "Daddy, it hurts…"

Mikoto choked on a sob as she listened to Itachi plead to what he believed to be his father. She knew that Itachi had very deep mental scars from what Fugaku had done to him as a child, but to watch her precious baby have to relive one of his most traumatic experiences again as if it were happening broke her heart.

It wasn't that she hadn't tried to protect her children – she had done all that she could! – it was that Fugaku had too much power over all of them and there was never anything that she could do.

"Itachi, I need you to get out of the car and go inside now – Fugaku will be home soon, and if he sees the car is gone, he'll _know!"_

Itachi still didn't move. He whimpered and let out a few more incoherent pleads before cowering at some unseen threat. Mikoto knew she had to be patient with Itachi – it wasn't _his _fault that he was like this and the boy was just frightened.

"Itachi…" Mikoto was careful about where she touched the boy now – if she touched him in even the most innocent of places, it could have disastrous effects. She grabbed Itachi's elbow, hoping that it wouldn't frighten her son more than he already was. "Itachi, it's mommy… Itachi, I need you to look at me, baby. Itachi, it's mommy…"

Itachi whimpered again before wincing as he turned to face who was speaking to him. He stared with terrified eyes for a few seconds before reaching out and falling into his mother's arms.

"M-mommy…" Itachi whimpered, burying his face into Mikoto's white shirt. "M-m-mommy, I-I'm s-scared!"

"Oh, baby, I know you are…" Mikoto whispered as she stroked the long hair that was under her palm. "That's why we're here – to try and help you."

"M-mommy, I want to die…!" Itachi whimpered, choking on a few of his sobs. He tightened his grip on the clothing in his hand. "I-I do…!"

"Shh, shh…" Mikoto wrapped her arms around the distressed man and rocked him side-to-side slowly. "Shh… I need you to get out of the car and come with me…"

"M-mommy…!" Itachi's voice rose in distress and the tears came harder. To him, his father had just spoken, ready to take him into the "client's" house. "M-mommy, no…! I don't wanna go…!"

"Shh… Itachi, baby, it's not like that… We're going to see Pein, remember? He's going to help you… It's nothing like that – I promise."

"Mommy…" Itachi moaned. "Mommy, it hurts so much…!"

"I know it does…" Mikoto whispered. "I know it does… But it's not like that. Please, sweetness – come out of the car. Please…"

Itachi was silent for a few moments before speaking. "…Okay, mommy…"

Mikoto placed a soft kiss on Itachi's forehead before releasing her grip of the male.

Itachi was quick to get out of the car. He waited for his mother to come to his side before reaching out and grabbing the woman's hand. He squeezed tightly before walking slowly into the building. No words were spoken between them until they stood outside of the blue door labelled with "Akatsuki Therapy Meeting Room".

"Mommy…" Itachi whispered, turning to his mother. "M-mommy… P-please… I-I'm scared…"

"Shh…" Mikoto reached out and wiped away tears from the boy's face. "I'll go in with you."

Itachi nodded slowly before squeezing his mother's hand and looking at the ground. "…"

"C'mon…" Mikoto rubbed the boy's back before pushing the door open and stepping in. Itachi remained where he was, so she had to tug a little to get him to follow her.

Itachi gulped and lifted one foot with hesitation. He trembled as he placed it through the door. It took a few minutes – because Itachi kept yanking his foot back out of the room – but Mikoto had eventually been able to coax him in.

Mikoto lead the young man further into the room. She smiled at the other occupants who had been patient enough to stay silent and just watch her with her baby boy.

"I'm sorry we're late," Mikoto apologised. "Itachi doesn't like his father's car…"

Pein was standing at the back of the room. He chuckled and shook his head. "Not a problem. It's understandable. Hello, again, Itachi-kun."

Itachi bit his lip and moved closer to his mother. He didn't lift his gaze from the ground.

"Itachi, say hello." Mikoto smiled as she reached out and stroked her son's oily hair.

"…H-hi…" Itachi whispered. He choked on a sob.

Pein smiled. He unfolded his arms that were crossed over his chest and walked over to the Uchiha. He reached out and placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder.

"Your mother has told me why you're so fearful of the car and coming here." Pein whispered. "If, at any stage, you wish to leave the room, you may. I won't keep you here."

Itachi nodded. "…"

"Baby, I need to go…" Mikoto kissed Itachi's forehead. "I'll be back soon to pick you up, okay? I know you'll be fine here. I love you."

"Love you, too…" Itachi mumbled. He was surprised at himself for not having begged and pleaded for the woman to stay with him, but even so, he did feel numb at the moment.

Mikoto left the room quickly. Pein smiled at Itachi.

"Itachi, I want you to go and sit with Deidara-kun, okay?" Pein turned back to the group. "Deidara-kun, raise your hand."

Itachi glanced warily up at the group. He was careful to not make eye contact with anyone. He noticed that a long-haired blonde was waving at him, but he wasn't sure if it were a girl or a boy. They wore a long-sleeved grey shirt with black pants and had thick eyeliner on.

Itachi frowned before looking back down at the ground again. He shuffled slowly over to the spare seat by the blonde.

"Hey!" The blonde greeted happily. From their voice, Itachi could work out that it was a boy. "I'm Deidara, yeah. You're Itachi?"

Itachi nodded as he looked at the wall behind Deidara. "…"

"What are you here for?"

Itachi shrugged.

"Not very talkative, are you? …Un."

"Deidara-kun, leave him alone." Pein called. Itachi looked up to see that the ginger was talking to one of the other members – a red-haired male that looked very young.

Deidara followed Itachi's gaze and noticed who the Uchiha was looking at. "That's Sasori, yeah. He's a bastard."

Itachi nodded and shrunk back down in his seat. He noticed that there were quite a few people sitting around in a circle, but he didn't recognise anyone but Pein. The talk was quite between everyone until Pein spoke again.

"We'll begin tonight's session very soon – I just need to go and get the assistant. Calm yourselves before our return."

"I heard Pein's new assistant is his new girlfriend, hmm." Deidara spoke. "Heard they got together about a week or so ago."

Itachi turned his head slightly to Deidara to indicate that he was listening. He wanted to speak to Pein in private before they begun the session. He knew that Pein had disappeared out the back of the room, so he quickly left his seat and hurried to the back door. He wasn't sure if he was allowed out there or not, but it was important that he tell Pein about how scared he was and that he didn't want to be directly included in the session until he got used to everything.

"Pein-san, I –" Itachi had found Pein standing by a counter with a blue-haired woman beside him, lip-locked. "…Konan-chan…?"

The two broke apart and turned to look at Itachi. Sure enough, it _was _Konan standing there, being intimate with Pein. Konan's eyes were wide and Pein looked confused.

"Do you know her, Itachi-kun?" Pein asked.

Itachi couldn't speak – tears of betrayal rushed down his cheeks in rivers.

"We had broken up on the day of his incident…" Konan whispered. She approached Itachi and hugged him. "Itachi-kun, I'm so sorry – I had no idea you were here…"

Itachi reached up and grabbed Konan's red sleeve. He buried his face in Konan's chest and cried.

"We'll take him back to the others and hope that Deidara can calm him down," Pein whispered.

Konan nodded and led Itachi back to the group. Everyone's eyes were on the three, but out of everyone there, only Deidara looked concerned – everyone else was more focused on Konan.

"Hey, are you okay, Itachi-san?" Deidara asked as the Uchiha was placed back into the seat he had previously occupied. "Pein-sama, what's wrong with him, yeah?"

"He's just having a hard time." Pein smiled at Deidara. "I'm sure you could make him feel better. Can you talk to him? You're good with people."

Deidara nodded. He slipped off the black jacket he had been wearing and draped it over Itachi's quivering frame. "Itachi-san, why are you so upset? You can talk to me about it."

Itachi shook his head, scrunching his eyes shut.

"Why won't you, hmm?" Deidara whispered. He reached out and placed a tiny hand on Itachi's. "I'm a good listener, ya know? …Un."

"…"

Deidara frowned. "I honestly am… Do you want to know why I'm here? I'm thinking that maybe if I tell you a bit about me, you'll learn that I'm not such a bad guy."

Itachi slowly lifted his eyes. He stopped his gaze just under Deidara's eyes. "…"

"My mom died during childbirth and my dad hated me. …Un. He used to beat me all the time and treat me as the slave of the household. I wasn't even allowed to call him 'dad'… When I discovered art, it was by accident. I don't remember what I had done, but I accidently caused an explosion. I realised then that art was an explosion. …My dad caught me out in the backyard… I had found a bird with a broken wing, and he watched as I blew it up… He tried to attack me, so I blew him up next. Judge must've taken pity on me or something, because of sending me to jail, she sent me here…"

Itachi frowned before closing his eyes. "…M-my dad… hates me, too…"

Deidara smiled. "See? That's a start. And we've got something in common, too! Now, tell me what was bothering you just before. I don't like seeing you sad."

Itachi dropped his gaze once more. "…K-konan… is my ex…"

Deidara's jaw dropped. "You mean you went out with _her? _Shit, you lucky guy! Everyone is eye-humping her! ...'Cept for Sasori-danna, that is."

Tears streamed harder down Itachi's face. He couldn't stand the fact that he was different from everyone else was being rubbed in his face without Deidara even realising it.

"Hey, did I upset you? I'm sorry. …Un."

Itachi just shrugged. He was aware of Pein and Konan talking in the background, but he was more focused on Deidara. Why was he being so nice to him? And open? And _caring? _He didn't deserve any of that. But why did it feel so… _nice _to have someone other than his mother treating him like this?


	9. Chapter 9

"How are you today, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked up from his lap. He was sitting in Sasori's room on his bed when he heard Iruka's voice. Iruka and Kakashi had returned.

A month had passed. Sasuke had been placed on anti-depressants and with Iruka talking to Sasuke and Kakashi treating the boy with therapy, the young Uchiha had been doing well.

"Good…" Sasuke said quietly. He pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them to make room for Iruka and Kakashi on the small bed.

"Has anyone been giving you rough treatment?" Iruka smiled.

Sasuke shrugged. "Not as much as they used to. Sasori is good. He looks out for me."

"Do you like Sasori yet?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "A little. I don't hate him anymore. He's not like everyone else."

"What have you been thinking about, Sasuke? Have you been doing what I taught you for when the bad thoughts come?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes… Sometimes it doesn't stop the thoughts, though…"

"Sasuke, I told you; thoughts are just like passing cars in the street – they come and go. You need to tell your thoughts to go away. It's easy – it just takes practise, okay? And the nightmares?"

Sasuke sighed. "I write it all out as I dreamt it and then rewrite it to make it funny… I've been doing that."

"And does it help any?" Iruka smiled as he reached out to pat Sasuke's knee.

Sasuke nodded. "It does…"

Kakashi grinned. "It makes it less powerful when you do that. You're doing so well, Sasuke!"

Sasuke weakly smiled back – the first smile both Kakashi and Iruka had ever seen from the boy that wasn't twisted by some dark thought.

"So tell me – what else have you been doing, Sasuke?" Iruka asked. "Is there anything you need to talk about?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I… I feel better… But… I guess I _would _like to talk about something…"

Iruka nodded while Kakashi pulled his pen and notepad out of his bag.

"…I want to talk about… Father… About what he used to do to us…"

"Of course, Sasuke-kun. When you're ready."

"…" Tears welled up in the boy's eyes. "…Father used to rape Itachi all the time… He even sold my brother to other men… But why didn't he do anything to me…? I don't understand…"

"How does this make you feel, Sasuke-kun?" Iruka whispered. He reached out and stroked Sasuke's hair.

Sasuke shrugged. "…I don't know…"

"Did you _want _him to do something to you?" Kakashi asked, scribbling on his notepad.

Sasuke shrugged again. "…I… don't know… I feel like… Itachi was better than me, or something… I don't know how to explain it…"

"Sasuke, what your brother has been through is absolutely _repulsing." _Iruka said softly. "The thing is, you should be _glad _that it didn't happen to you as well. I know that it's probably confusing for you and makes you feel beneath Itachi, or _something _to that degree, but you should be happy that you were safe."

"I know…" Sasuke whispered as he wiped at his eyes. "I know…"

"How do you feel about your brother, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked. "I mean now. How do you feel about him now?"

"…" Tears dripped down Sasuke's cheeks. "…I… I know that he _did _love me… I was too scared to believe it… But my mother and Itachi… were the only ones to have ever cared… Was I wrong in trying to kill my brother, Iruka…?"

"No." Both doctors said without hesitation.

"You were extremely ill, Sasuke." Kakashi spoke. "You were only doing what _you _believed was the right thing to do. Besides – I heard that your brother is out of hospital and attending therapy sessions."

Sasuke choked on a sob. "…Please… Just leave me alone…"

Kakashi left silently while Iruka hung back. The brown-haired male wrapped his arms around Sasuke before releasing him.

"We'll always be on your side, okay?" Iruka whispered to the boy. "If anything happens, you can count on us."

Sasuke nodded. He heard the Umino's footsteps leave the room. He lay down on the bed and wrapped himself in his blankets like a cocoon. The Uchiha was aware of Sasori entering the room just minutes later, but the small redhead was respectful enough to leave the boy alone.

**-XX-**

Three months had passed. Itachi lay on his bed, staring at the roof. He could hear his parents fighting again, and he was scared. Fugaku went extra hard on him now that Sasuke was gone.

"Sasuke…" Itachi whispered, pulling the blankets over him like a pitiful shield. He was aware of his mother's pained squeals and it made him begin to shake harder than he already was. "Mother…"

Itachi whimpered and tensed, curling further in on himself, as he heard his mother's bloodcurdling scream. Tears ran in rivers down the male's cheeks as he rocked himself back and forth. He soon lost himself in his own world – until someone had grabbed him by the hair and thrown him off the bed.

"F-father…!" Itachi whimpered as he curled up into a ball. He put one arm out in front of him like a shield. "F-father, please…!"

Itachi chanced a look up at his father when he heard something click. He gulped before screaming at the sight of the handgun in his father's hand.

"Come here, Itachi." Fugaku snarled, brandishing the gun. He pulled on the trigger and a bullet flew past his son's leg after several seconds of waiting. "You're the one who makes me do this! You need to be taught what those disgusting pigs of men do to each other! I know that if I didn't teach you what gay men do, you'd have turned out to be filthy – just like them!"

Fugaku lunged forward and grabbed at Itachi's hair, pulling again. The younger man screamed and tried to pull away. As he got a better grip on the roots of his son's hair, he yanked harshly, landing a kick into the younger's side while he was at it. He struggled to remove the boy's shirt, getting as far as knocking off a few shirt buttons and slipping the loose tracksuit pants down his hips.

"Get up!" Fugaku shouted. "Get up, whore!"

"No!" Itachi screamed as he struggled to get away. As his father's hand brushed against his cheek, he did something that he had never done before – he bit his father's finger hard enough to draw blood.

Fugaku pulled away with a yelp. Never before had any of his family ever fought back against him. He grabbed his bloody hand and looked down at Itachi. The young man was curled up in a ball, quivering and crying hysterically.

Fugaku's eyes widened as he became aware of the gun in his hand. He lifted his hand and looked at the silver metal.

"Itachi…" Fugaku whispered.

Itachi refused to look up at his father. Instead, he curled up even more and ducked his head in between his arms. Everything was silent for just a few moments more before a loud _bang _made him jump.

Itachi quickly looked at where his father stood. His eyes widened and he felt bile rising from the depths of his stomach. His father was on the ground in a puddle of blood and brains. Blood and brains splattered the wall behind him.

Itachi wasn't sure of how long it had taken his mother to get there, but he was soon wrapped in a blanket as he lay in his mother's lap while police poked around the room. He was vaguely aware of someone carrying him out of the house and into an ambulance. He lay down almost immediately on the stretcher, pulling his favourite blanket higher over his body.

Itachi wasn't even aware of how he had gotten into a hospital room, but he knew that he was in one, because his mother was sitting with him and he recognised the nurse that was caring for him as the same one from the last time he had been hospitalised.

And then, the next thing that Itachi knew, he was back home in his bed, and slumped over said object was his mother, a bloodied knife in her hand and slit wrists. He couldn't move, couldn't speak – could only stare at the one person he had that he could trust and talk to.

**A/N Having both of their parents die was actually unplanned, but I desperately needed to torture something and get my mind off things, and what better way than to torture than an Uchiha?**


End file.
